


Narcissus in Red

by Chrysanthos



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pokemon Journey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-07 08:28:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21455020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chrysanthos/pseuds/Chrysanthos
Summary: Lilia awakens in the world of Pokemon. The problem, however, is that she has the barest idea of what Pokemon is even about - and now she's expected to go on a journey? There's also the bigger problem that she's now eleven years younger than she usually is??? Even so, there's nothing to do but to head out into the Kanto region and start her new life.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

_Water seeped into her skin, it was hard to breathe, were those screams, it was all muffled, she couldn't breathe, she was unable to breathe, it was so cold, _

Lilia shot up, startling the young woman who was applying a damp towel to her forehead.

"Oh! You're up!" She said, collecting herself, "When my husband found you, we weren't sure what you were doing out in the rain, but I'm just glad you're awake."

Lilia blinked. "Wh-" She coughed to clear her throat. "Where am I?"

"You're in Viridian City," The woman said, "In Kanto. Are you alright? I mean, are you cold or anything?"

Lilia looked around the room. It was a modest, if small, bedroom, with Lilia lying in one of the two beds. "Am I imposing?" Was her first question.

The woman blinked, then gave a short laugh. "Of course not! You were in the rain, and my husband couldn't help but leave a little boy like you lying around."

Lilia instinctively winced. "Girl."

"Oh, sorry," The woman apologized, "What's your name then?"

Lilia gave her name.

"Lilia... It's a fine name, I think. Foreign?" The woman asked, "But it's really pretty. My name is Haruko."

Lilia nodded. "Okay, so... You mentioned that I'm in Viridian City. Where... Is that?"

"Kanto. Are you feeling alright?" Haruko looked concerned. "If you have amnesia, I'm not sure how to treat that - I only have my mother's old nursing books."

"No, no, I think I'm fine." Lilia thought back. She was pretty certain Kanto was a province in Japan, but that raised two problems - one, Lilia couldn't speak Japanese. Two, she didn't think "Viridian City" was a Japanese name. "Out of curiosity, you called me a little boy? Why is that?"

Haruko looked vaguely uncomfortable. "Well, your hair's just so short, dear, that I couldn't help but make an assumption."

That didn't actually answer Lilia's question, but it did answer why her head felt lighter than it usually did - or maybe it was the hunger, as her stomach growled just then.

"Ah, my apologies," Lilia mumbled.

"You're so formal!" Haruko laughed, "Don't worry, I have some soup boiling away. Shall I bring you some?"

"I wouldn't mind that, thank you," Lilia thanked Haruko. As Haruko left, Lilia shuffled the (admittedly very comfortable) blanket off of her and went over to the small vanity. She had spent the better part of a year growing out her hair - she at least wanted to see the damage.

Lilia froze.

Staring back at her was her ten-year-old self - chubby face, short brown hair, and steel grey eyes in all. Her clothes looked soaked, but she was wearing jeans and a unmarked black t-shirt.

Lilia stared at her reflection. Finally, she spoke. "Was I really this ugly at ten?"

A small noise caught her attention, and Lilia turned around. If she was surprised before, nothing could have prepared her for the small, dark-blue orb with leaved growing out of its head. Lilia, from her time playing Pokemon Go once a few summers ago, vaguely recognized it as an Oddish.

Which meant one of two things - either she was hallucinating, or...

"You're... You're a Pokemon."

The Oddish chirped and spun around on one foot.

Lilia stared at the Oddish before she karate chopped her own left wrist. She blinked at the dull pain, before nodding, "Yep, that hurts. So..." Lilia bent down and picked up the Oddish. "Either I'm lucid dreaming, or I just isekai'd into the Pokemon universe, a game I don't know anything about."

"Lilia?" Haruko's voice called from behind the slightly-ajar door, "Are you alright? What are you- Oh! I see you've met Oddish! I hope he's not bothering you."

"Not at all," Lilia gave an unsure smile, "It's just that I'm not... Used to seeing a Pokemon."

"Really?" Haruko asked as she set a steaming bowl onto the vanity. "Are you from one of those regions where Pokemon just aren't common, like Orre?"

Orre. That outright sounded fake. "...Yes, I'm from Orre. That's why I wasn't familiar with Kanto's cities. Because I'm foreign."

It was the perfect lie.

"That makes sense!" Haruko smiled. "I'll just take Oddish off your hands, unless you'd like to keep him around? He's a real lap Pokemon, not at all useful for battling, but he's really sweet. Probably wanted to know you were alright."

"Thank you, Oddish," Lilia said to the Oddish, "But I think I'll give you to your owner." She handed Oddish to Haruko, and then sat down at the vanity's small chair. She took a tentative sip of the soup.

"...How is it? I might have made it a bit too salty..."

"No, I like it salty." Lilia liked spicy foods over salty, but at least it wasn't bitter. "It's delicious."

"Thank you! It's my father's recipe." Haruko started. "Oh! I need to give him his coffee!" She rushed into the hallway, leaving Lilia alone with her soup.

And her thoughts. But mostly the soup.

After Lilia finished the soup, she thought about her situation. She was in Pokemon, but she wasn't sure which game she was in - her friend had tried to explain the entire Pokemon timeline to her, but she checked out once she started talking about parallel universes.

Still... Pokemon... It wasn't the worst afterlife.

Lilia paused at that. WAS she dead? She distinctly remembered drowning, but that wouldn't mean anything if Viridian City were on a beach. Or, it WOULD, but it would instead mean that she was thrown into some weird multiverse shenanigans instead of just an isekai situation. She just hoped this wasn't one of those things where everything was made more deadly than the source material let on.

Lilia stood up and stretched. Catching sight of her reflection, she grimaced slightly - she needed to do something quick about looking more like a girl. Grabbing the bowl, she exited the room.

She walked down to the first floor. Oddish was running around a small baby, and when the baby looked at Lilia, she gave a quick smile - Lilia was of the idea that children should be nurtured. The baby clapped and cooed, and Oddish grazed the baby with one of its leaved, tickling the baby. Lilia smiled at the sight and moved on.

In the kitchen was Haruko and a much older man, who was sipping a cup of coffee. "Ah, is this the squirt that Shimaru found on the edge of the forest?"

Lilia's hand twitched. So she WAS just outright isekai'd. Great. "Y-Yes. My name is Lilia. Lilia..." She racked her head for a last name. "Asterbreath. I come from Orre, and I humbly thank you for your assistance."

"She's a formal type, huh?" The old man mumbled, "Rich?"

"Dad!" Haruko lightly chastised her father, then turned to Lilia. "You didn't need to bring that down, sweetie."

"But- I wanted to. It's the least I could do." Lilia said, placing the bowl into the sink. "I'd like to help, if you'd let me."

The man at the table nodded. "She may be one of those rich types, but she's definitely got some manners." He stood up and handed the empty cup to Lilia. "My name's Saruji. If you want, I can teach you how to catch a Pokemon. I doubt they teach you Orrians that, since you don't have any wild Pokemon. Meet me on Route 2, and I'll give you a quick lesson." Saruji headed over to the house, put on his shoes, and left.

Haruko gave a small sigh. "Oh, father... He always does as he wants, without considering other people..." Haruko shook her head. "Well, it's a good lesson, nonetheless. If you have a Pokemon, your options for travelling increase by quite a lot - even Oddish can use Stun Spore to make fleeing from Pokemon really easy."

Lilia thought over Saruji's offer. "I think... I'll go catch a Pokemon." Lilia said. She paused. "D... Do you have any shoes I can borrow?"

"Maybe, I have small feet. Let's go see!" Haruko said, taking Lilia to her room.

Five minutes later, Lilia was walking to the outskirts of Viridian City in a pair of running shoes that miraculously fit her. Viridian City, true to its name, was startlingly green. Not only the grass, but also the large amount of trees as well, all leading up to a particularly dense forest at the end of what must have been Route 2. Sure enough, Saruji was waiting there.

"Lilia!" He called out, standing in some particularly tall grass. "Get over here!" Lilia ran over, her feet muffled by he combination of the grass and the shoes. "Glad you took me up on my offer. Hope you're not feeling too bad!"

"I feel fine."

"Then get ready. I'm going to show you how to catch a Pokemon! Watch carefully." Saruji nodded to Lilia, then walked further into the grass, Lilia following close behind. Suddenly, a blur attacked Saruji - a small bird that Lilia vaguely placed as Pidgey.

"Mr. Saruji!" Lilia called out.

"Don't worry!" Saruji said, pulling out a Pokeball, "Pokemon may attack you if you go into the wild grass. If that happens, and you don't have a Pokemon, just throw a Pokeball! If you don't have either... The easiest thing to do is run, though I've heard that that Bruno fella likes to fight his own Pokemon bare-handed. Where was I... Oh, right. Throw a Pokeball!" Saruji rambled, eventually throwing a Pokeball at the Pidgey. In a few shakes, a small star of energy burst from the center. "It does that if the Pokemon's caught. Now it's yours, and you can nickname the Pokemon if you want."

Lilia wished she could've taken notes.

"Now, it's your turn!" Saruji handed Lilia a Pokeball, "Go ahead, try it yourself!"

"If... you say so, Mr. Saruji." Lilia nodded, and then meandered around the tall grass. After only a few short minutes, a small, brown inchworm with a cute little pink nose crawled up.

"That's a Weedle! It's a Bug-Type that's really easy to catch!" Saruji explained. "Go ahead and throw the Pokeball!"

Lilia nodded, and threw the Pokeball...

And missed spectacularly, hitting a tree and shattering the poor Pokeball. The Weedle stared at the broken ball.

"Uh." Lilia blinked.

"Er." Saruji blinked. "Do you... Want to try again?"

Lilia felt pretty embarrassed, all things considered. But, she knew that, if she were to get this right, she needed to keep at it. This was an important skill to have, now that she was in a Pokemon game, and she wasn't going to let her terrible aim stop her before she started. "I'm going to try again," Lilia replied. 

And she ended up throwing the ball directly into the ground, cracking the release mechanism and rendering it unusable.

As Lilia stared emptily at the broken Pokeball, Saruji tilted his head. "This... Could take a while."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lilia Asterbreath  
ID No.: None yet.  
Pokemon: None yet.  
Badges: None yet.


	2. Chapter 2

It took a good seven more tries, but eventually, Lilia managed to catch Weedle - by rolling the Pokeball as if it were a bowling ball.

"Congratulations!" Saruji cheered, and Lilia allowed herself the chance to do a little victory twirl. "I was getting worried at first, but you've really come a ways, haven't you?"

Lilia, picking up Weedle's Pokeball, nodded at Saruji. "Yes - but I couldn't have done it without your guidance, Mr. Saruji. Would you like me to repay you?"

"Repay me?" Saruji laughed. "You don't need to do that! Sure, you've got a little problem with aim, but Pokeballs are cheap enough that someone half your age could buy one on an errand! even if you're rich, you don't need to pay me back for anything!"

"Still..." Lilia hummed. It was in her nature to help others at her own expense - literally. She often gave people money for nothing, and it ended up hurting her more that it helped. "Maybe I can be a live-in maid?"

"A maid?!" Saruji exclaimed as they walked back to his house, "You're much too young! Plus, we don't have any need for a maid, even with the youngin."

"Did it go well?" Haruko asked, meeting them outside with the baby in her arms.

"Lilia caught a Weedle!" Saruji announced, clapping Lilia on the back.

"A Weedle?" Haruko asked, handing the baby to Saruji, "May I see?"

Lilia nodded, and took out Weedle's Pokeball, sending it out. It cooed happily, and curled around Lilia's leg. She picked it up and began to pet it as if it were a cat. "I was told that I could nickname Pokemon?" She asked.

"You can!" Haruko nodded, "It's totally up to you, though! You seem to be able to handle Weedle well, too! Are you sure you've never had a Pokemon?"

"Positive," Lilia replied. She DID used to have a cat, however, and Weedle seemed to have similar behavior to one, despite being a bug. "I once went to a nature preserve and the handler there told me I was a natural, though, so I'm not sure what that means."

"Well, whatever it means, your Weedle seems to like you." Haruko nodded. "Did you want to name it?"

Lilia looked at the Weedle in her hands, and thought about it. The Weedle cooed at her, and Lilia said the first thing that came to her head - "Melissa," Lilia stated, "I'm going to name you Melissa."

Melissa cooed and wrapped around her wrist.

* * *

Lilia stirred and slowly woke up. The world blurred, and then slowly came into a less-blurry focus. She reached for her glasses and instead brushed against something fuzzy.

"Ugh, you absolute fool," Lilia murmured blearily, "Get _off_ of my glasses." She picked up her cat. "Hm. Are you lighter than usual?" She finally looked at what she was holding.

The Weedle stared back at her, and the memories of the past day flooded back.

Lilia crashed out of bed, and the Weedle (Melissa, didn't she name it?), went after her, clearly worried.

"Lilia?" Haruko's voice called out, further cementing that this was, in fact, real and not some weird dream that had gone on for too long, "Are you alright?"

"Uh, y-yes!" Lilia called back as Melissa climbed onto Lilia's chest, "I'm fine, just tripped on something!"

"Alright! By the way, I found some clothes I think might fit you, since you mentioned at dinner you lost your luggage!"

_I did?_ Lilia thought, before replying, "Thank you, Miss Haruko! Do you need help with anything?"

"No, no! Go ahead and freshen up!" And Haruko's footsteps disappeared downstairs.

Lilia pulled herself up, Melissa staying stuck to the rumpled shirt Lilia had been wearing since yesterday.

"Melissa," Lilia started, and Melissa looked up with a small chirp. It was surprisingly cute, not that that was a difficult criterion to meet for Lilia's standards. "Melissa, you need to wait in this room while I shower. I don't know how you feel about hot water, so it's better to be safe than sorry, you know?" Melissa thought, then nodded and gave a small leap onto the bed, where it curled up into the bedsheets and began to nap.

Luckily, the bathroom was easy to find, and after a good fifteen minutes, Lilia felt surprisingly refreshed. Being under the spray of hot water also helped her come to terms with the fact that she actually was in the Pokemon universe.

"If I'm going to be in a video game, I'd like to have a tutorial that isn't just me throwing objects without my glasses." Lilia muttered as she wrapped a towel around her body (and why did she have to be ten?). Stepping into the hallway, she noticed a small bunch of clothing that she hoped was in her size.

The end result of the outfit was a long green skirt, a slightly too-big black long-sleeved shirt, and a golden scarf. The skirt was a bit too big in the waist, but a brown belt had been included, with a small pouch presumably for Pokeballs. Even so, the resultant outfit looked surprisingly nice on Lilia, although she probably needed a jacket for winter months. She wasn't sure what Japan's climate was like, but she knew that it definitely snowed in the winter.

Melissa made a small noise and made a surprising leap from the bed onto Lilia's arm, then crawled up onto her shoulder.

"Huh... I really do look like a Pokemon trainer, don't I?" Lilia noted aloud. Melissa gave a small chirp of agreement and nuzzled against Lilia. "You're probably hungry, huh?" Lilia smiled, and walked downstairs, where Haruko was feeding her baby. "Good morning, Miss Haruko."

"Good morning!" Haruko greeted back, "How are the clothes? Do they fit well enough?"

"They fit fine - I'll grow into the ones that don't fit, probably. Hey, last night was a bit of a blur - what did we talk about?"

Haruko blinked at the sudden change of topic, but she paid it no mind. "Well, not much. Mostly, it was Oddish and Melissa playing around, and I suggested that you should register as a trainer in Pallet Town, just to the south of here. Ordinarily, you'd be able to register at Viridian City's Pokemon Gym, but the Gym Leader's out of town, so Pallet Town's Pokemon Laboratory should be the closest place to do so, since to get to Pewter City and the League building proper you need to get through Viridian Forest and the mountains, respectively."

Lilia thought that sounded like a good course of action. Although... "Which direction would south be?" She asked.

"Oh! When you exit the house, you'll be facing south." Haruko explained, handing Lilia a bowl of rice. "If you keep going that way, you'll reach Pallet Town in no time - although you may run into some wild Pokemon on the way."

Lilia nodded and began to eat.

* * *

Lilia stood at the south exit of Viridian City, at the mouth of what was apparently called Route 1. Melissa was perched on Lilia's shoulder, a light breeze ruffling its minuscule hairs (apparently, Weedle had them, hairs).

Lilia was kind of nervous, all things considered. Her only experience with Pokemon before this was the single month she had downloaded Pokemon Go before deleting it, so she was unsure as to what to do if a Pokemon appeared. She was really just lucky that Melissa stood still for so long.

"Um... Excuse me?" A voice said behind her, and she started a little, jostling Melissa. Lilia turned around to see a kid around her age with a small red lizard-like Pokemon with a flame on its tail. "Are you alright? You were standing pretty still. Are you scared?"

"Oh, I'm- I'm fine." Lilia replied. "Thanks for asking. I'm just nervous - I'm new to Kanto and I need to get to Pallet Town to register to be a trainer."

The kid's face lit up. "Really? That's so funny - I'm also going to Pallet Town! I have a package to deliver - what's your name? My name's Red."

"Oh," Lilia replied. It was amazingly lucky that they were going the same way. "My name's Lilia. This Weedle is named Melissa, and since I caught her yesterday, I was going to see about being registered as a trainer."

"Woah! You caught her yourself?" Red gasped in awe, and Lilia found it adorable - after all, Red was a kid, and Lilia had been wanting to go to teaching school in her old life. "That's so cool! Charmander was a gift, but I like him because he's my first Pokemon."

Charmander, evidently, gave a happy little trill.

"Hey, do you want to go to Pallet Town together?" Red offered, pointing down the route, "I live there, so I know the way really well."

Lilia thought it over, but it didn't take long - Red would obviously be a good guide. "Sure! Lead the way!" Lilia said happily.

And off the two went. They had only gotten a few feet through the tall grass, however, when a small purple rat jumped out at Lilia.

Lilia cried out in shock and stepped back. Melissa, apparently taking it as a signal, jumped from Lilia's shoulder and took a fighting stance wherein it stood on its hind few legs, as if it were about to pounce.

"A-Are you going to battle for me?" Lilia asked, and Melissa gave a determined nod. Lilia looked to Red. "Do you mind if-"

"Not at all!" Red smiled, and went to the other side of the grass, skillfully avoiding a few bird-like Pokemon. "I'll be waiting for you right here!"

"Thank you." Lilia gave a small, polite bow, and then turned to face Melissa's battle. "Er... I-I don't know what attacks you know, Melissa. Could you-" Melissa shot a purple needle out of its horn, which pierced the Pokemon's shoulder. Surprisingly, there wasn't any blood, which made Lilia relax a bit - she hated blood.

Even so, the rat ran up to Melissa and tackled the Weedle, knocking it back.

"Melissa!" Lilia called out to the smaller bug, but Melissa stood back up and shot out a large amount of white threads, which promptly tangled themselves into the rat's fur and legs. Due to the rat now having to navigate with what was likely silk tripping it up, Melissa was able to shoot off another purple dart, which hit true and also made the rat look a little sick.

"Is- Is it alright?" Lilia asked, but Melissa didn't have an answer- Melissa instead fired off another dart before the rat managed to tackle Melissa again, knocking her back. However, the rat's flinch was noticeable, and without any further ado, it fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Woohoo!" Red cheered, "You won!"

Lilia picked up Melissa. "I... I suppose you did well, Melissa." Lilia began, unsure. Melissa responded extremely well to the praise, however, and began cooing and rubbing its face against Lilia. Lilia had to stifle a laugh - the hairs on Melissa tickled.

* * *

The two made their way through Route 1 without much incident. Occasionally, another purple rat (a Rattata, according to Red) or a Pidgey (that one, Lilia could recognize - they were everywhere in Pokemon Go) would hop out of the tall grass, apparently seeking a challenge. Though Lilia was hesitant to battle, Melissa and Red's Charmander were more than eager to field the assaults, and very soon, the two Pokemon had become fast friends.

"So," Lilia asked after Melissa took out a Pidgey mid-flight (it was very impressive), "I don't mean to sound insensitive, but... Your name is, um-"

"Oh, Red's just a nickname," Red explained, "I call my best friend Shigeru 'Blue' all the time, and we used to know this girl we called 'Green' before she moved to Vermillion. I just don't like my real name." Red shrugged. "We were learning the colors in Galarian, and Red just sounds cool."

Was Galarian English? Wouldn't it be Galarish? Lilia shook the questions out of her mind. "R-Right. Sorry if I sounded insensitive."

"It's nothing to apologize for." Red smiled. "You're pretty, so it's fine if you're a little insensitive."

"That's not a very good business practice." Lilia said, smiling back. "Being pretty is no excuse to be treated wrongly."

"I'll take your word for it." Red laughed. Lilia laughed along with him.

A Rattata fell to the ground, and Melissa gave a soft cry, drawing Lilia's attention.

"Oh?" Lilia walked over to Melissa, who hopped up and down despite being a sort of caterpillar. "Is something the matter?"

Melissa gave one final trill before beginning to glow white.

"A-Ah!" Lilia jumped back as the glow reached blinding levels, "What's happening?"

"Woah!" Red shouted, running up, "I think Melissa's evolving!"

"Evolving?" Lilia asked, and as if to answer her question, the blinding glow dying down to reveal a golden yellow chrysalis. "M-Melissa?" Lilia said tentatively.

The cocoon swiveled around on a small point and looked at Lilia with sunken-in white eyes. It then gave a rough trill.

Lilia picked Melissa up. Surprisingly, despite being a pupa, its chitin was also incredibly hard, and, if this was any indication, very durable. However, many vases looked durable, so she wasn't looking to test that hypothesis any time soon.

"So, in what way is this an evolution?" Lilia asked, cradling Melissa in her arms.

"Well," Red began as they began walking again, "It's not really like a biological evolution. Blue was telling me about this - it's more of a metaphor for reaching the next stage in a Pokemon's development."

"Very interesting," Lilia muttered as she scratched at Melissa's exoskeleton where she assumed the jaw was. Apparently, she was right, as Melissa soon closed its eyes and began to emit a humming sound. "If I've helped this one reach what's basically Pokemon puberty, I think we should hurry to Pallet Town so that I can get my license."

"You're in luck!" Red announced, coming to a stop. "We're here!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lilia Asterbreath  
ID No.: None yet.  
Current Party:
> 
> Melissa (Kakuna Lv 7)  
Met at: Viridian City  
Caught at Level 5  
Moves Known: Poison Sting, String Shot, Harden
> 
> Badges: None yet.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not like, expecting a lot of reads on this one, but I just wanted an outlet to create a self-insert fic for once. This is actually my first self-insert fic, so I hope it'll be fine! Obviously, I know what happens in Pokemon, but Lilia doesn't...


End file.
